Graphics Card Antec Fusion

[bettz]

Could anybody recommend a good Graphics Card for my Antec Fusion.
I've an Asus P8Z77-M Z77 Motherboard i was just using the onboard gpu Hd4000 but with Rome Total War 2 due out next month could i get a half decent Graphics card and be able to play on at least medium settings?

Here are my specs

Antec Fusion
Replaced fans with Noctua Fans

Scythe Mini Ninja

Asus P8Z77-M Z77 Motherboard

i5 3570k Cpu

4GB G.Skill RipJaws 1600MHz DDR3 Dual

1Tb Caviar Green Hdd

500w be quiet psu - This could be a weak point

64gb SSD

 

[MxPhenom 216]

What's your budget?

 

[bettz]

Looking at £150 maybe push a little more

 

[Vario]

Looking at £150 maybe push a little more

Geforce 760

 

[Frag_Maniac]

You'd have to bump it up to 190 pounds to get a 760 from the lowest UK pricing I've seen, or about 160 pounds for a 660 Ti. If you can handle 190 pounds definitely go for the 760. It's the best card in it's price range easily.

 

[Rok]

If you want to push your budget a little but don't want to make the leap to the 760.
The 660ti or the 660 are good alternatives. They maintain good fps on Shogun 2. So I imagine they'll handle Total War 2 well just check the 660 or 660ti review articles on this site.

This 660 from Gigabyte is about 153 euros.
This 660ti from MSI is for 189 euros.

However, you should take into consideration if your thinking about using multiple gpus. Your motherboard will allow you to use Crossfire but not SLI. So if your thinking about doubling up your gpus in the future you're going to want to go with an AMD card.

In this case I would suggest you consider the 7870. It performs less then the nvidia cards, but at least you'll be able to crossfire them in the future.

Finally your concern about your psu is justified. The minimum suggested psu wattage for the 660ti is 450w, for the 770 it's 500w. So you're cutting it close with that 500w. You may want to consider a beefier one to give yourself a little more head room. Hope this helps!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Total War games are not really about the GPU its always been CPU thats the limiting factor you system should be fine 2gb Vram minimum, anything GTX 660 or higher will be fine.

 

[shovenose]

<nevermind>

 

[Vario]

The 660 or 7870 or a used 7950 are good options

 

[bettz]

Thanks guys Running crossfire isnt an option due to the lack of space i've only 1 pci-e card slot available due to my cpu cooler.

So far its between the gtx 660ti They go for around £145-£155 on the bay
Both are close price wise.I'd have to consider the cost of another psu what power supply should i need to be able to cope with the new gpu? 600w?

I've read a few posts saying I might be able to get away with a 500w PSU on a 660ti?

Also which card would be the quietest as its going in my htpc

http://www.cclonline.com/product/86...I-Mini-HDMI-DisplayPort-VGA-Adaptor-/VGA0714/

A mates offered me his gtx 550ti card but I suspect this would struggle with Rome total war 2

 

[ne6togadno]

this one
as for psu anything you can afford between 550W-650W from corsair, seasonic or cooler master but at least 80 bronze rated.

 

[Rok]

660ti good choice. That Zotac is a good card from a price to performance perspective. However, according to Tom's its a loud card take a listen for yourself. Personally I find some of the other cards noisier, but that's just me. If your considering a really quiet card you may want to consider spending a few bucks more for the Asus.

As far as PSUs, I would use this calculator. It's suggested by Johnnyguru, from just a rough estimate of what your system looks like you should be ok with 500w for a 660ti. However, depending on how old it is you may want to upgrade it.

 

[bettz]

For the cost of the Asus gtx 660ti http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B0096EXI9Q/?tag=tec053-21

am I better off just going for the gtx 760??

Also would the Ram be an issue or would 4gb be fine?

Rok ive used the psu calculator and it comes out at under 400w with a gtx 660ti but there's no option for the gtx 760

 

[xBruce88x]

500w should be enough honestly... i'm running a power hungry Phenom II and a 7850 on a 500w.

4gb is enough... (i play everything just fine with 4gb and its ddr2...) but 8gb wouldn't hurt . i.e. it would be a nice upgrade but not critical.

you could get the non-ti version of the 660 for close to your budget

http://www.amazon.co_uk/dp/B0099AOAUI/?tag=tec053-21

as for your power supply though... the biggest worry is the 12v rail. we'll need to know that by either a picture of the side of the power supply or the model number.

 

[Rok]

For the cost of the Asus gtx 660ti am I better off just going for the gtx 760??

I think if you remember the earlier entries, you'll read a resounding 'Yes' from multiple people.

Also would the Ram be an issue or would 4gb be fine?

For the time being the amount of RAM you have should be enough for playing the game. If when the game comes out the recommended specs say otherwise, or when you play, you notice longer than you're comfortable with, load times. Then I would take a closer look at upgrading.

Rok ive used the psu calculator and it comes out at under 400w with a gtx 660ti but there's no option for the gtx 760

The 760 has a TDP of 170w, 20w more than the 660ti. As long as the temperature in your case is ok. You should be fine.

 

[bettz]

So it looks like the best GPU is the MSI GTX 760 OC Gaming as its the lowest noise level and stays the coolest? I bet this will be the most expensive card lol

 

[Vario]

Its the newest mid line card from nvidia so its competitive with the previous mid-high cards like the 7950 /670 but more efficient

 

[Rok]

MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC for 245.45£. This one has a superior cooler.

Or the MSI N760-2GD5/OC for 191.40£, which is not a bad consolation prize.

Feel free to treat yourself to the real deal for a few extra bucks

 

[Vario]

MSI N760 TF 2GD5/OC for 245.45£. This one has a superior cooler.

Or the MSI N760-2GD5/OC for 191.40£, which is not a bad consolation prize.

Feel free to treat yourself to the real deal for a few extra bucks

Reference cooler is better?

 

[bettz]

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-boost-1072mhz-cores-115

This anygood?

 

[Rok]

Reference cooler is better?

Did you click on the link? The consolation prize has the reference cooler.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-...mhz-gddr5-gpu-1006mhz-boost-1072mhz-cores-115

This anygood?

According to benchmarks here.
It could be quieter under load, but is has low temperatures. Overall the editors here recommend it. Its also recommended by the folks over at Guru3d.com.

 

[bettz]

Right quick update i've scrapped the Upgrading my Antec project and decided to build a Bitfenix prodigy not sure on case colour yet but the question is will it be enough for my PSU??

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
My system will be around 365W
Does this sound about right i added a Blu ray drive to the list as a future update

So specs are now going to be

Motherboard M-itx ??? Still to buy

Noctua Fans

Scythe Mini Ninja

i5 3570k Cpu

4GB G.Skill RipJaws 1600MHz DDR3 Dual

1Tb Caviar Green Hdd

500w be quiet psu - Will this still be enough??

64gb SSD

Asus GeForce GTX 670 DirectCU II OC Gamer 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (Which i've already bought bargain £179

I've also bought a Streacom FC8 Evo for my htpc
Processor i3 3225
Motherboard Gigabyte H77N-WIFI
SSD
Streacom 150w psu

 

[RCoon]

500-550watt will be fine for that system, just make sure its 80plus bronze rated or above. Might also want to jump to 8GB RAM if you're gonna game on it, I dont find 16GB is necessary at all.

I like the ASRock Z77 ITX board as the VRMs on it are pretty good. I will recommend a more high end cooler for your processor though instead of buying Noctua fans.

 

[Rok]

Your 500w should be fine.

Just check that it fits. This seems to be the dimensions for the PSU.
PSU cage depth 180mm, max PSU depth 160mm

 

[bettz]

Your 500w should be fine.

Just check that it fits. This seems to be the dimensions for the PSU.
PSU cage depth 180mm, max PSU depth 160mm

Should be ok
Dimensions: 150 x 150 x 86 (WxHxD)